Retro Sketch - Literally!

Okay...I confess...I needed a post for today and a Valentine's Day card for hubby, so I literally used this week's Retro Sketch for my card - literally.  Very lazy of me, I know...but I'm happy with the way it turned out.  No fru-fru on the card, nice and simple, and no pink to be seen - perfect for hubby :)

All confessions aside, I had a scrap of this fun Bo Bunny paper left so it became the launching pad for the card.  Also got to pull out my new TCP heart die from my SFTYY winnings - love the funky shape!  The sentiment is a $1.50 stamp from Mike's, and I used PTI's linen impression plate for just a touch of something on the white panel even though you can't see it in the picture.

Short and sweet today as lots on the agenda. Wishing you a fabulous day :)



What's In It?
Stamps: Studio G (Michael's) 
Paper: Bo Bunny, Real Red, Cameo Coral, Kraft 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:  Heart Trio CutUp (The Cat's Pajamas), Linen Impression Plate (PTI), Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Cherry Blossom Thanks

This week's Verve sketch is inspiration week too and Diva Maureen has selected this fun picture to work from.

I just love cherry tree blossoms (except when you park under one and you have cherry blossom petals spewing out of your vents for a few days LOL).  We have many of them in our area, and at times it snows pink and often leaves a beautiful carpet of pink :)

I took quite a bit of artistic license with the sketch...sorry Moe!  The bow element immediately reminded me of a butterfly so I die cut a few to try them out but it just wasn't working for me, so I decided to create my own "cherry blossom".  Pulled out two old Stampin' Up flower punches and went to work. I curled the edges of the large blossom and added dimensionals to give the flower some "fluff" -- after all, cherry blossoms are fluffy ;)  My brick embossing folder mimicked the white wall (if you look closely there is a brick pattern to the wall), and the green flourish is in lieu of the two vertical triangles.

We had a wonderful long weekend, and enjoyed our new provincial Family Day holiday!  A mean game of Risk was had and then a wonderful sushi dinner :)   Love hanging out with my family and treasure the times I have with my kids as they are growing upu waaaay too quickly!!

Thanks for dropping by today!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Celebration of Thanks (Verve)
Paper: The Sweetest Thing (Recollections), Early Espresso, Rose Romance, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Flower Punches (Stampin' Up), Brick Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Flourish Die (My Favorite Things), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #280

Julee has provided us with another great sketch this week.  I had great fun using my new paper pack from Michael's called The Sweetest Thing (gotta love gift cards!).  Lots of lovely florals and great colours I enjoy working with.

Since I needed another sympathy card, I pulled out this wonderful Isaiah 61:30 Plain Jane.  Such a great verse and I was singing it all day long, lifting my own spirits in the process :)

I took the sketch literally and used a rose for the flower component and then added some ribbon and a bow to finish things off. 

You can check out all the challenge details over on the  Mojo Monday blog and also get a chance to view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples!  Should you wish more details on their cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.
  

Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Have a fabulous day, and thanks for dropping by today!


What's In It?
Stamps:  Isaiah 61:3 Plain Jane (Verve)
Paper:  Basic Grey, Rose Red, Rose Romance, Old Olive, The Sweetest Thing (Recollections from Michael's)
Ink: Black, 
Accessories:  Medium Scallop Die (PTI), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Rolled Rose Die (My Favorite Things), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), 5/8" Yellow Satin Ribbon, White Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #175 - Masking Technique

This week's challenge is brought to us by Lisa and she has challenged us to use any type of masking technique.  I used basic masking and if you need a tutorial you can find it here.

I pulled out my Buckets of Love set from There She Goes and masked off the bucket so the heart cluster fit into it perfectly.  Coloured the image with Twinkling H2Os and used this wonderful Fab Friday sketch to put the card together.

For some inspiration to get you going, just hop on over to the Just Us Girls blog, and check out what the Design Team has created.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be selected as Chick of the Week.  

The kids had a Prerosional Day on Friday and our new, provincial Family Day holiday falls on Monday, so it's a four day weekend for us.  We're off to the soccer pitch for my son's game on Saturday (fingers crossed for a win as they are in the playoffs), I'll be teaching the grade 5/6 Sunday School class this weekend, and then we will be doing some sort of fun, family activity (yet to be determined) on Monday to celebrate Family Day together :) 
 
Have a great weekend!  Back on Monday with my Mojo Monday card. 



What's In It?
Stamps:  Buckets of Love (There She Goes), French Script (Stampin'g Up)
Paper:   Going Grey, Black, Dots and Stripes (Echo Park)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Twinkling H2Os,  Bling,, Dimensionals 

CAS(e) This Sketch

Decided to play along with this week's CAS(E) this sketch.   I'm far from comfortable with CAS cards and my lack of expertise shows in spades.  That being said, the only way to see if I can improved is to dip my toe into the CAS pool to see if I can slowly progress in a forward motion - key words being forward and slowly LOL!  Thanks for hanging in there while I give it a whirl now and then :)

My "to be used later" pile is growing exponentially so I decided to pull out another butterfly die cut - sorry, it's getting to be that time of year where flowers and butterflies are front and foremost again :)

I fiddled with the colour combo and may have to give it another go as I don't think the butterfly has enough "pop".  Yes, the learning curve is steep LOL!

Thanks for visiting!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Celebration of Thanks (Verve) 
Paper: Kraft, Cameo Coral, Early Espresso 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:  Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

You Make A Difference In My Life

Used this great sketch by Lucy Abrams for this card.  Slowly moving out of Valentine's Day cards and into spring/summer cards (before the Mother's Day rush LOL) so pulled out my beloved Flutterby and Elegant Leaf dies from Verve.

I finally have the MFT tab dies and used one to add the secondary "thank you" sentiment to the card.  That, along with carefully using bits of my hoarded stash of Mellow Moss!  Still sad they discontinued this colour.

Short and sweet today as have lots to get done.  Wishing you a wonderful day :)


 

What's In It? 
Stamps: Bloom and Grow, Joyful Blooms, Friendly Phrases (Verve) 
Paper:  Garden Florals (Recollections), Mellow Moss, Real Red, Kraft, Blush Blossom 
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Flutterby and Elegant Leaf Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Lattice Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up), Tab Dies (My Favorite Things), 3/8" Moss Grosgrain Ribbon, Crimper, Bling, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Wavy Heart Be Mine

Enjoyed working with the first Verve sketch for February.  Loving all the  nice clean lines - I'm a bit anal that way LOL!

Had to give this fun Bo Bunny paper another go.  Such a fun mix of non-traditional Valentine's Day colours. I created the XOXO paper by using one of the stamps from Verve's Love Notes and pulled out my By Definition Stampin' Up Background stamp for the coral panel.  Haven't used that stamp in just ages!  Had this left over die cut from Verve's Wavy heart die set and it was a perfect fit.  A button and sentiment tag, along with two punched hearts as accents called it a card.

I still have a hard time making cards with more colour than white space, so I'm on a mission to work on that.  This one is growing on me a lot so forward we go :)

Thanks for popping by and wishing you a great Tuesday!



What's In It?
Stamps: Love Notes (Verve), By Definition (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Cameo Coral, Kraft, Rose Romance, Black, Real Red, Bo Bunny
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle Nesties, Wavy Hearts Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Crimper, Mini Heart Punch (Michaels $1.50 bin), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #279

It's the first Monday of the month which means it is contest time over on the Mojo Monday blog!

Julee has provided this wonderful sketch for us to work with this week and I had great fun using it to make one more Valentine's Day card.  I just had to use this wonderful Carta Bella Kiss Me heart paper I found at my LSS last week.

Perhaps one of the last times in a while I'll be using my beloved Jotted Heart and U die too - can never get enough of them!

You can check out all the challenge details over on the  Mojo Monday blog and also get a chance to view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples!  Should you wish more details on their cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.
  

Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Have a fabulous day, and thanks for dropping by today!


What's In It?
Stamps: Text Notes (Verve)
Paper:  Night of Navy, Rose Romance, Going Grey, Cool Caribbean, Kiss Me (Carta Bella)
Ink: Black, 
Accessories:  Jotted Heart and I Heart You Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Lattice Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up), Crimper,  1/4""Blue Gingham Ribbon, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #174

This week's sketch is brought to us by Vicki. I needed a card for a friend and his wife who recently moved in to a new home, so took the opportunity to  use the sketch to make them a card.  Since I know him much better than his wife, I went for a more masculine card.

The image is one from Market Street stamps purchased through my SFYTT win on Christmas Day.  I coloured it with Twinkling H2Os - always a daunting task as a colourer I am not!

The middle house represents their new home so I wanted it to stick out - thus the orange colour.  Hope they like orange LOL!  I added some grass around the houses to "ground" them images.  Had to giggle to myself because I went a bit long on the blades of grass and it looks like it has to be mowed - not something you want to have to do when you first move in.

Added texture with the embossing folder and crimped banners and just "had" to add a bow to glam it up a bit.  Pretty sure he can handle it [grin}!

For some inspiration to get you going, just hop on over to the Just Us Girls blog, and check out what the Design Team has created.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be selected as Chick of the Week.

Have a great weekend!  Back on Monday with my Mojo Monday card. 



What's In It?
Stamps:  Market Street
Paper:  Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Mellow Moss, Kraft  
Ink:  Black
Accessories: Circle Nesties, Lattice Embossing Folder (Stampin Up), Crimper, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

A Simple Sympathy Card

I was in need of a sympathy card for a dear friend whose mother recently passed away and since I was crunched for time, this was the result.

I absolutely love Stampin' Up's Thoughts and Prayers sympathy set.  The images in the set just make me smile and have such a nice flow to them.  Plus the sentiments are wonderful.

I tend to like to use white or cream with a pop of colour on my sympathy cards, and pink was the "pop colour" of choice this time round.  An embossed background, some silver pearls and the ribbon jazzed it up just the right amount.

Thanks for dropping in today :)



What's In It?
Stamps:  Thoughts and Prayers (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, White
Ink:  Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, Going Grey
Accessories: Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8" Pink Satin Ribbon, Button, Silver Twine, Silver Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals